Wunderfall is the come-down from the season. Camp for the weekend, unwind a little, play one more tournament with your people, and cap off the year. That's the whole point.
This year: 65 players, 12 divisions, two days at the Wasatch Wunder. And the golf still got tense. Everybody teed off on hole 9, so everybody finished on the same closing stretch, holes 1 through 8. On Sunday the A Pool played 2 and 3 as one hole, the 2/3 combo, and nobody birdied it. Hole 5 was the third-hardest hole of the day. Hole 6 was the forced carry over the creek island.
Five races came down to that stretch. Here's how it happened, hole by hole.
Results are unofficial until the PDGA processes the report.
MP40: three up with five to play
Saturday. John Matern opened with four straight birdies and led early. Nicholas Scott took over on hole 17. Then Chris Norman birdied 2, 3, 4 and 5 in a row, and on hole 5 Scott made a double. That one hole was a three-shot swing, and Norman finished with a 55 (-9), rated 1003, the hottest round of the tournament. Scott was one back at 56.
Sunday. Scott opened with seven straight birdies, holes 9 through 12. He took the lead on 11 and never gave it up; it was his alone from 18 until hole 6. Behind him, Matern birdied eight of his first nine and pulled even through 14, before bogeys on 16 and 18 let him slip.
After the 2/3 combo, Scott led Norman by three with five holes to play.
- Hole 5: Norman birdie, Scott bogey. Lead down to one.
- Hole 6: Scott double, Norman bogey. All square.
- Holes 7 and 8: both birdied both.
110 (-16) each. On to a playoff, back to hole 9 in the A position.
Norman threw a beauty of a flip-up forehand that hit cage and settled a short putt away. Scott went overhead, and the wind pushed it just out of position on the right, blocked by trees for his putt. Norman knocked in the birdie to win: his first Wunder win, in his ninth Wunder event, after second at Wunderment 26 in May and four earlier top-four MP40 finishes. Nicholas Scott, in only his second Wunder event, was second. Matern was third at 113, and Dustin Hanson came back from a 62 with a Sunday 55 for fourth. Eleven of the twelve finished under par.
I went 67, then 54. We don't talk about Saturday.
MP40 podium: Chris Norman, Nicholas Scott and John Matern
MP50: settled on the last hole
Ryan Mickelson led after Saturday and was three up through hole 15 on Sunday. Then he made a 6 on hole 16, and Brian Bowling, up from MA40 this year, was level.
Bowling took the lead on the 2/3 combo and stretched it to two on hole 5. Two up, three to play.
Then came hole 8, the hazard island. Mickelson birdied it. Bowling bogeyed it. Tied at 134 (+8).
The playoff went two holes. Both birdied hole 9 (A position). On hole 10, Mickelson parred and Bowling bogeyed. It's Mickelson's first Wunder win, in his first Wunder event since WunderFall 2022.
First-timer Eric "EZ" Grow led the division going into Saturday's last hole before the island took a bite. He answered with the best Sunday round in MP50 (63) and finished third.
MP50 podium: Ryan Mickelson, Brian Bowling and Eric "EZ" Grow
MPO: a seven-shot lead, and a nervous finish
On Saturday, Baylor Sandberg, the Wunderment 25 MPO champion, was three up on Nate Reiner through hole 14. On hole 15, Sandberg made a double and Reiner birdied, a three-shot swing in one hole. Reiner never trailed again and finished with a 57 (983), the highest-rated MPO round of the weekend.
Five holes into Sunday, Reiner led by seven. Sandberg birdied four in a row (11 through 14) and kept coming. On the final hole, Reiner bogeyed and Sandberg birdied. Reiner won by one at 116 (-10). In May, he shared the round 1 lead at Wunderment 26 and finished fourth. Not this time.
Chaz Critchfield, up from MA1, shot the best MPO round on Sunday (55, rated 965) for third. First-timer Josiah McClary closed with a 56 for fourth.
MPO podium: Nate Reiner, Baylor Sandberg and Chaz Critchfield
MA2: six up with four to play
Brett Lewis wasn't going to play. He came up for Thursday doubles, and we talked him into staying for the weekend. It's been a rough year on the course for Brett, with a few tournaments he didn't get to finish. This one he finished.
Brett took the lead for good on hole 2 on Saturday and was six up with four holes left on Sunday. Then Tyler Ivie went to work. Hole 5: Ivie par, Lewis double. Hole 6: Ivie birdie, Lewis bogey. Hole 8: Ivie birdie. The lead went 6, 4, 2, 2, 1.
Lewis held on by one at 126 (E), his second Wunder win, and a pretty good way to end a season. That's what this weekend is for. Ivie's closing 59 was the best round in the division. Ivie and Nicholas Stosiek tied for first in MA3 in May; both moved up, and Ivie finished ahead again. And Isaac Robertson went 86 on Saturday, 67 on Sunday: a 19-shot turnaround.
MA2 podium: Brett Lewis, Tyler Ivie and Brian Whitley
MA1: a three-way tie with nine holes left
First-timer Josh Massey shot a 57 (983) on Saturday, the best amateur round of the weekend, and led Garret Hayes by six before Saturday's last hole.
Sunday, Hayes came after him with a 57 and Kevin Haupt came with him. Through 16, Massey, Hayes and Haupt were all tied at -7. Massey birdied 17, Hayes answered on 1, and the two of them were still level through 5.
Hole 6: Hayes bogeyed the island carry. Massey parred it, then parred 7 and 8, and won by one at 117 (-9) in his first Wunder event. First-timer Blake Hawkins tied for the best Sunday round in the division (55, rated 965) and jumped from a 64 to third. Haupt was fourth, a big step up from 14th in this division last fall. Seven of the eleven finished under par.
MA1 podium: Josh Massey, Garret Hayes and Blake Hawkins
Two aces, both in MA1
- Edward Rixe on hole 2 (241 ft). He registered the day before.
- Nick Jennings on hole 8 (286 ft), the hazard island. Our TD. In his own tournament.
They split the $225 ace pot. Nick closed with a Sunday 55 for fifth.
Out front the whole way
MA3: Boston Jones. His Saturday 59 was rated 963, almost 100 points over his own rating. He won by nine at 124 (-2), the only MA3 player under par, for his second Wunder win. Jason Ash shot the best Sunday round in the division (61) to tie first-timer Caden Handley for second, Ash's best Wunder finish in six events.
MA3 podium: Boston Jones, with Jason Ash and Caden Handley, tied for second
MA40: J.D. Poulsen and Jason Ahn were never more than two apart through the first 19 holes on Saturday, and were tied after hole 6. Then Poulsen birdied 7 while Ahn bogeyed, and Poulsen never trailed again. He won with two 63s at 126 (E). Tyson Campbell came back from a 70 with a Sunday 60 for second.
MA40 podium: J.D. Poulsen, Tyson Campbell and Jason Ahn
MA50: Christian Phelps was second by one in May. This time he was three up by hole 14 on Saturday and won by four at 131 (+5), his first Wunder win.
MA70: Charley Quinn played the first MA70 division ever held at a Wunder event and shot a Sunday 66 to win at 140 (+14).
MA50 podium, Christian Phelps, Robert Bumgarner and Bill Johnson, with MA70 champion Charley Quinn
MA4: First-timer Matt Mann won at 141 (+15), with a 66 on Sunday.
MA4: Matt Mann and Blaine Callahan
FA4: Ashley Taylor, the Wunderment 26 FA40 champion, won at 148 (+12). She took the lead on the second hole and kept it. Kami Belchak was second and first-timer Zoe Adams third.
FA4 podium: Ashley Taylor, Kami Belchak and Zoe Adams
MJ06: the first 6-and-under division ever held at a Wunder event. Emerson Taylor and Leo Burton each played all 18 holes of the Juniors layout, and Emerson won at 96. They both had a blast, and that might be the best thing that happened all weekend.
How the course played
Same 60 players in the A Pool both days:
| Saturday | Sunday | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardest | 16 (+0.90), 5 (+0.78), 17 (+0.45) | 2/3 combo (+0.92), 16 (+0.87), 5 (+0.67) |
| Easiest | 10A (-0.38), 10C (-0.17) | 4 (-0.55), 10A (-0.32) |
Average score against par. Hole 16 was a top-two beast both days. The 2/3 combo gave up zero birdies on Sunday. Hole 4 on the short basket was the best birdie chance on the course (58% on Sunday).
Hole 8 was the wildest: an ace on Saturday, 38% birdies and 37% bogey or worse on Sunday, and the swing that forced the MP50 tie.
The swing holes
By the numbers
- 21 first-timers in a field of 65. Three of them won their divisions (Massey, Mann and Emerson Taylor).
- Every Saturday leader won their division, but five of them were caught or pushed to the last shot on Sunday.
- 23 players finished under par.
- Chris Norman and Scott Belchak played their ninth Wunder event, Marlton Booth and Dane Urry their eighth, Dustin Hanson and Bobby Grieve their seventh.
- Creech Isaiah Balter had played all ten Wunder events before this one. We missed you, Creech.
Scorecards: PDGA Live.
Your champions
- MPO: Nate Reiner, 116 (-10)
- MP40: Chris Norman, 110 (-16)
- MP50: Ryan Mickelson, 134 (+8)
- MA1: Josh Massey, 117 (-9)
- MA40: J.D. Poulsen, 126 (E)
- MA50: Christian Phelps, 131 (+5)
- MA70: Charley Quinn, 140 (+14)
- MA2: Brett Lewis, 126 (E)
- MA3: Boston Jones, 124 (-2)
- MA4: Matt Mann, 141 (+15)
- FA4: Ashley Taylor, 148 (+12)
- MJ06: Emerson Taylor, 96 (+36)
MP40 and MP50 both ended tied for first after two rounds, and both were settled in a playoff.
Off the course
Chili Cookoff. Best in Show went to Nick Jennings for "Wonderful Bacon Ranch Chili," a year after he tied for the title and lost the tiebreaker. Nicholas Stosiek won Best Name and Kevin Haupt Most Creative. Thank you to everyone who cooked: Scott Belchak, Cardon Bridges, Kevin Haupt, Blake Hawkins, Nick Jennings, Zachary Low, John Matern, J.D. Poulsen and Nicholas Stosiek.
The raffle. 403 tickets sold, and Nicholas Stosiek won the Wunderment cabin. Pretty good weekend for Nick S.
Innova gave me a course stewardship award for the Wasatch Wunder on Saturday night. That award belongs to everyone who has put in work on that course.
Together we raised $6,046 for ElevateUT
Part of every entry was a donation: $18 of every $65 entry ($7 of every $20 junior entry). Between entries, the raffle, merch, hoodies and your donations, Wunderfall 26 brought in $6,046 in net income. Hosting the US Women's Disc Golf Championship this July stretched us thin, and this money goes straight to helping us recover from it. Thank you for showing up for us.
Thank you
This was Nick Jennings' first Wunderfall as TD. He ran it, aced it, and won the chili. Thank you to Brodie Duncan, Eric "EZ" Grow and Chip McMullen for everything you did to make this weekend happen (and insert yourself here if I forgot you _____).
Every division podium is in the Wunderfall 26 photo album.
Podium photos by Nick Jennings.
What's next
We'll be back up on the course this fall for workdays to spread seed and gravel. Dates are coming soon. Many hands make light work.
See you at Wunderment 27 in the spring.